Press and means for operating the same.



1H. MUELLER.

v PRESS AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME, 1 APPLICATION men MAR. 21. 1914.

1 ggafi 1, 1 Q imented July 10, 19.17.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HILMAR MUELLER, -01? TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

PRESS AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME.

Application filed March 21, 1914.

' of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Presses and Means for Operatflg the Same, of which following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion, reference. being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to press-operating mechanism, and more particularly to mechanism for operating presses which are used for the purpose of manufacturing tiles for flooring and similar purposes. As ordinarily constructed, these presses each comprise 'a die which is adapted to contain the material from which the tiles are made and a plunger cooperating with the die to compact the material to the desired extent. The

plunger is nonerotatably operated by a screw which is threaded into a frame and provided with a large hand-operated fly wheel.

It is a well known fact that the product of such hand-operated machines generally deteriorates toward the latter part of the working day, as the operator then tires and is unable to perform the pressing operation as carefully and as efiiciently as during the earlier hours of the day. Notwithstanding this objection, machines of the type referred to have always heretofore been manually operated and, in fact, it has been deemed impracticable to equip them with mechanical or electrical power devices for operating the same.

It is the general object of the invention disclosed herein to provide mechanism, in the shape of an attachment, whereby a machine of this type maybe operated by power in such manner as to enable the pressing operation to be continued throughout the day and produce a product which is uni-- form throughout the entire period; also to provide a power driven-machine of this character which shall possess all of the ad-- vantages of one operated by hand and which will produce a uniform product or the high character that is obtainable through machines of this type; also to produce a machine of this character wherein the output will be materially increased over that of the hand operated machines. Still further objects of the invention are to pro- Specification' of Letters Patent.

PatentedJuly 10, 1917.

Serial No. 826,147.

vide a machine of this character with automatically operating controlling devices whereby the power may be out off and the machine reversed at certain predetermined times, and whereby eficiency and safety in operation are secured. nhirthcr and more detailed objects of the invention will appear hereafter in the specification.

In the drawings forming part hereoi Figure 1 represents an elevation of a. machine of the character referred to hereinhefore having my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a detail in plan illustrating the yielding driving connection between the platen shaft and the adjacent motor-driven part; while Figs. 3 and are enlarged sectional details corresponding respectively to the Zines 33 and r -i of ig. 1.

My invention'is preferahly provided as an attachment to an existing type of machine,-one which has been used as a handpower machine for a comparatively iong interval of time. These machines comprise generally a base standard 1 supporting an inverted ll-shaped frame 2, the branches of this frame being carried by a plate 3 which is mounted on top of tne base standard 1. 4 denotes the die for the'material which is to be pressed 5 the cctiperating platen which is reciprccated by a screw 6 threaded into the upper end of the frame 2. At its upper end, the screw 6 is provided with a wheel 7 rigidly connected thereto.

' The parts thus far described are such as are ordinarily used in the operated presses to which reference has. made. The wheel 7, however, differs from those ordinarily employed with such presses in that it is not as large as is case w tne motor shaft 10 is journaled in a hracket 11 which is also bolted ontoone side of the frame 2, the shaft 10 being provided with diametrically opposite blocks 20 mountedin These blocks are arcuate guideways 21. yieldingly connected to the wheel 7 by means of the springs 22, which are shown as mounted in the guideways, on opposite sides of the blocks 20 and on studs 23 24 carried respectively by the blocks 'andthe opposed ends of the guideways. I

25 denotesa motor reversing-switch of standard type comprising ashaft 26 which, by a rotary movement through a certain dis- V tance in one direction, is adapted to drive the motor 8, by a further rotary movement in the same direction to stop the motor, and

by a rotary movement in the reverse direc tion to reverse the motor. A switch of this kind being well known to those skilled. in the art, any detailed description of the switch itself will be unnecessary. The shaft 26 is provided at one end with an operating hand lever 27 and at its opposite end .witha forked arm, the forks being indicated- ,at 28 and 29. The forks extend parallel to each other and the fork 28 projects beyond the fork 29 and is curved, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. 3O denotes a roller which is supported on a pin 31 extending between and carried by the forks'28 and 29. I

The non-rotatable extension of the screw 6 which carries the platen 5 is mounted within a yoke 32 carriedby an arm which is secured to that side of the frame 2 which is adjacent to the switch 25. 33 denotes a plate extending from the top of the nonrotatable extension '34 of the screw 6 which is slidable within the yoke 32, the plate 33 projecting toward the switch 25; and 35 denotes a roddepending from this plate .and having sleeved thereon a curved arm 36 which is in thesame vertical plane as the fork 28. .The arm 36 is vertically adjustable on the rod 35 by means of the adjusting screw 37, which is threaded through the arm 36, a lock nut 38 being employed to retain the parts in adjusted position. 39 denotes a second rod depending from the plate 33, at one side of the rod 35 (see Fig. 3).

I 40 denotes a forked arm and 41 a dog which is pivoted to the arm in such manner that it is free to swing upwardly on its pivot and is provided with a beveled surface 41 presented toward the arm 29. The arm 40 is vertically adjustable 'along the rod 39 by ..means of an adjusting screw 42 which is mounted on the plate 33 and has its lower 44 denotes a bolt which is slidably mount- 5 I ed in the yoke 32 and has a beveled end 45 projecting toward and adapted to pass between the forks 28 and 29. This bolt is nor-' mally retained in a retracted position (that is, in a position wherein it will not engage the roller 30) by means of a bolt '46 which is adapted to slide in a vertically extending guideway 47 in the yoke 32. A coiled spring 48 is so connected to the bolt 44 as to move the same toward the switch lever 28, 29 when the locking bolt 46 is elevated; A similar spring 49 holds the beveled end of the last mentioned bolt in a notch44 in the first mentioned bolt, whereby such movement of the bolt 44 is normally prevented. The upper end of the locking bolt 46 is provided with an extension 50 having a screw 51 therein which is adapted to engage one arm 52 of a lever pivoted between lugs. 53 on.

top of the yoke 32. The other arm 52 of the lever is arranged to be engaged by a disk 54 projecting from and carried by the lower end of the screw 6.'

, ,With the parts constructed and arranged as described, the operation. will be as follows Assuming the die 4 to have the tileforming material therein and the screw 6 to be elevated, the operator moves the lever handle 27 downwardly, thereby elevating,

the forks 28 and 29, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 of the drawing, and closing the driving circuit of the 'motor 8. Through the connections heretofore described, the large bevel gear 18 is rotated in a direction to move the screw and the attached platen 5 downwardly, the rods- 19 permitting this relative vertical movement between the wheel 7 and the bevel gear. Owingto the size and weight of this bevel gear, the said gear and the wheel 7 together constitute a fly-wheel of equal efliciency with the much larger fly-wheel heretofore employed. As the screw descends, the plate 33 carries downwardly the arms 36 and 40. The arm 40 being below the arm 36, the dog 41 will strike the fork 29, but will swing upwardly on its pivot on the arm40, allowing the said arm to pass beneath the fork without operating the switch. When the platen 5 is sufficiently near the die 4, the arm 36 which is also movable with the screw and platen, strikes the motor is cut out, operates through the inertia of the compound fly-wheel until the platen 5 1 s exerting the highest pressure to which it is intended the tile-forming material shall be subjected. At this stage, the forked arm 28, 29 occupies the first position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, with the roller 30 adjacent to the end of the bolt 4A. The disk 54 will then, however, have rocked the lever 52 to elevate the locking bolt 46 sufiiciently to release the bolt 44. Thereupon the inclined surface of this bolt acts upon the roller 30 to swing the forked arm 28, 29 to the second dotted-line position shown in Fig. i, in which position th s switch automatically reverses the motor.

As the screw 6 and the attached part rise, the dog 41 moves upwardly, engages the fork 29, and rocks the shaft :26 to a position to out ofi the motor. The inertia of the fiy-wheel will then carry the screw and platen to the starting point. Ii it is desired to subject the material to a repressing action, the operator merely swings the switch lever 27 downwardly to the position shown in Fig. l, whereupon the operations just described are repeated.

Should the motor tail, for any reason, to stop upon its reversal or should the flywheel operate longer than contemplated, no harm can happen to the platen, screw and attached parts, as the rotation of the screw will merely cause the rods 1'5 to pass entirely through and be disengaged from the blocks 20 before the plunger or any of its the life thereof.

attached parts can strike anything which could cause injury.

From the construction described, it will be apparent that I am enabled, in a power driven machine, to give the same yielding or flexible pressure to the tile material as is now secured in and through hand-open. ated machines; also to give a repressing action, it it is desirable so to do. it is further evident that I am enabled to automatically out off the motor before the impact of the platen against the die, allowing the remainder of the movement to be accomplished through the inertia of the fly-wheel, and that the point at which the motor may be cut 05 can be varied as occasion may require, to produce corresponding variations in the pressure. A further advantage of my construction resides in the tact the motor is automatically reversed practically on impactat such time as willavoid subjecting the parts to an undesirable high pressure. Furthermore, by the construction and arrangement of parts, there will be a material interval of time between the reversals of the motor, which results in taking the strain oil the motor and greatly extending A still further advantage oi" the construction is that the motor can be operated only in the proper direction and that it is practically impossible to make a mistake in this regard. 7

While the motor-controlling devices are shown there as applied to a'tile-press' and the mo members, and =verse movement while the arrangement and operation of the same are particularly designed with reference to such machines, it will be evident that they may, and probably will, be of moregeneral application. Hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting the invention herein only to machines of a special type, but reserve to myself the sole and exclusive right to apply to machines of any type the devices covered by the combinations embodied in the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a reciprocating impact member, of a motor for driving the same,'1neans controlled by the movement of said member for cutting off the motor before the impact of said member, and means also controlled by the movement of said member for reversing the motor substan: tially at the end of the stroke of said member.

2. The combination, with a machine comprising a reciprocating member and a cooperating impact member of a motor for driving the reciprocating member, means controlled by themovement of said reciprocating member for cutting ofi the motor before the impact of said reciprocating member, and means also controlled by the movement or" said reciprocating member for reversing the motor substantially on impact of said members.

3. The combination, with a reciprocating impact member, of a motor for dr ving the some, means controlled by the movement of said member for cutting the motor before the impact ofsaid member, means also controlled by the movement of said member for reversing the motor substantially on the impact of said member, and means controlled by the reverse movement or" the said member for automatically cutting of? the motor when said member shall have moveda predetermined distance in the reverse direction.

4-. lhe combination, with a machine comprising a reciprocating member and a co operating impact member, of a motor for driving the reciprocating member, means controlled by the movement of said reciprocating member for cutting oh the motor fore the impact of said reciprocating meinber, means also controlled by the movement of said reciprocating member for reversing tor substantially on of said.

means controlled by the re oi the reciorocatiug memticall cumng oh? t e motor her for auto when said K1 ber shall have moved predetermined 1. ance in the reverse direction.

5. The combination, with a reciprocating impact member, screw operating the same, and a fly wheel on said screw,,of a motor, connections between said motor and screw for rotating the same in reverse direo l i l tions, means operative by thetravel of the screw for automatically cutting ofi the motor before the impact of the reciprocating member, and means for automatically reversing the motor when said member shall have given its impact through the inertia of the fly wheel.

6. The combination, with a machine comprising a reciprocating impact member, a

screw for operating the same, and a fly wheel on-said screw, of a motor, connections between said motor and said screw for roimpact platen of'a motor, connections between said motor and said, platen for reciprocating the latter, means for automatically cutting oif the motor when the platen 1s within a predetermined distance of the die to permit the platen to travel the remainder of the distance to said die by inertia,

and means for automatically reversing the motor when the pressure between the die and the platen reaches a predetermined point.

8. The combination, with a die and an impact platen of a motor, connections between said motor and said platen for reciprocating the latter, means for automati-- cally cutting off the motor when the platen is within'a predetermined distance of the 7 die to permit the platen to travel the remainder of the distance to the die by inertia means for automatically reversing the motor when the pressure between the die and the platen reaches apredetermined point, and means for automatically cutting off the motor when the platen shall have moved a predetermined distance in the reverse direction.

9. The combination, with an impact platen, a screw for operating the same, and a wheel for operating said screw of a motor, driving connections between the motor and the wheel, said driving connections including a gear rotatable about the axis of the screw, pins projecting from said gear.

blocks yieldingly connected to the hand wheel through which said pins may extend whereby to drive the hand wheel and the screw,.and means controlled by the movement of the platen forstopping the motor when the platen shall-have been driven a predetermined distance. 7 10. The combination, with an impac platen, a screw operating the same, and a wheelfor operating said screw, of a motor,

' driving connections between the motor and the wheel, said driving connections including a gear wheel rotatable about the axis of the screw, pins projecting from one of said wheels'and blocks yieldingly connected to the other wheel through which said pins may extend whereby to drive the screw.

11. The combination, with an impact platen and a screw for advancing and retracting the same, of a motor, a yielding driving connection between the motor and the screw, and means; for automatically cutting off the motor before impact of the platen, and means for reversing the motor after said impact.

12. The combination, with a reciprocating impact member having an inertia operating device, of a motor, a yielding driving connection between the motor and the. reciprocating member, and means for automatically cutting ed the motor before impact of said member.

13. The combination, with a reciprocating impact device, a screw for operating the same, and a flywheel connected with said screw, of a motor, a yielding connection between the motor and the fly wheel, means controlled by the movement of said device for cutting off. the motor before impact'to allow the screw to be rotated by the inertia of the fly wheel, means for reversing the motor when the said device shall have been advanced a predetermined distance through such'inertia, and means adapted to cut ofl the motor when said device shall have been moved a predetermined distance in the re-,

and the fly wheel, a' switch for controllingthe motor, said switchv comprisinga shaft..

a pair of forks projecting from the shaft, and a roller between said forks, an arm movable with the reciprocating device and projecting toward one of the forks, a dog pivoted to said arm whereby it may pass said fork when moving in one direction but engage it when moving in the opposite direction, an arm movable with said member and projecting toward the other fork and adapted to engage the same and rock the shaft to cut out the motor, and a latch controlled by the movement of said member and adapted to engage the roller and move the shaft to a position to reverse the motor.

15. The-combination, with a reciprocating device, of a motor, a driving connection between the motor and the said devices, a switch for controlling the motor, said switch comprising a shaft, a pair of forks projecting from the shaft and a roller between said forks, an arm movable with the reciprocat-' ing device and. projecting toward one of the forks, e dog pivoted to said arm whereby it may pass said fork when moving in one direction but engage it when moving in the opposite direction, an arm movable with said member and projecting 7 toward the other fork and adapted to engage the same and rock the shaft to out out the motor, and a latch controlled by the movement of saw 10 member adapted to engage the roller end move the shaft to reposition to reverse the motor.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto efiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HILMAR MUELLER.

Witnesses:

MARY A. MURRAY, MARSHEL HUEY. 

